Summer 2016 has ended, which means the weather will deteriorate day by day. The autumn will come into its own, and then winter arrives with its snow and frost. Dress, as you know, have for the season and the weather, but how do you know it will rain or not, and how much will go up or down arrow of the thermometer? The Internet with its weather sites are not always available, and the thermometer outside the window and the contemplation of the sky – not the best ways to determine the weather for the near future.
This problem in a jiffy decide weather stations – compact units, always provide comprehensive information to current temperature, humidity, rainfall and other parameters. Today we test one of the most popular stations, Oregon Scientific BAR218HG from very well-reputed North American manufacturer.
Packaging
Oregon Scientific have tried to make packing a weather station BAR218HG as informative as possible. The main colour is white with a contrasting black color of the labels. The cardboard of the packaging itself is soft, but the inner box is sturdy and protects the device when transporting it.
The study of the packaging gives us an idea of the appearance of the device and all of its documented features, including the function of interfacing with smartphones, which a little later. Include a detailed specification sheet in 10 languages, including Kazakh, Ukrainian and of course Russian, from which we conclude about the good adaptation of the device to the Russian market.
The package
Weather station Oregon Scientific BAR218HG features the advanced package that allows us not to buy anything more for normal functioning. In addition to the device itself, the box we have discovered the sufficiently detailed manual, warranty card, external thermo-hydro sensor, and four alkaline batteries of format AA – three of them are installed in the station, and the fourth will power the external sensor.
Separately according to the instructions: it has been translated into four languages – besides Russian and Ukrainian there is Kazakh and English. With its help, the station capabilities will be mastered even by those who never dealt with this kind of technique.
Hardware specifications and functionality
To learn about the functions of the station Oregon Scientific BAR218HG, without resorting to the Internet, by examining the inscriptions on the box and the advanced option list specifying even the most minor settings can be found in the complete instruction.
The station capabilities are listed below:
— view data on your smartphone with Android OS 4.3 Jelly Bean and above, or Apple iOS 5 and higher (requires Bluetooth 4.0 or above);
information weather forecast with trend of atmospheric pressure for the next 12+ hours;
— display warning messages about atmospheric phenomena;
— measuring indoor or outdoor temperature and humidity with trend change (up to 5 external sensors);
— saves maximum and minimum outdoor or indoor temperature and humidity;
— warning about frosts with flashing lights;
— synchronize the internal clock with the clock on your smartphone or tablet;
— led backlit screen;
— display moon phases;
— save in memory the results over the past 7 days.
Characteristics of the station Oregon Scientific BAR218HG:
— dimensions: 186х94х54 mm;
— weight: 223 grams;
— signal frequency: 433 MHz;
— humidity measuring range: 25% to 95%;
— temperature measuring range: -5 to +50 degrees Celsius;
— units of temperature: degrees Celsius, degrees Fahrenheit
power supply: 3 batteries of AA standard.
Characteristics of external thermo-hydro sensor THGN132N:
— dimensions: 50х22х96 mm;
— weight: 62 grams;
— signal reception range: 30 meters;
— humidity measuring range: 25% to 95%;
— temperature measuring range: -40 to +60 degrees Celsius;
— power supply: 1 battery AA standard.
Appearance and build quality
Weather station Oregon Scientific BAR218HG is vertical version. The device is molded from matte black plastic with a glossy black frame front panel is glossy, but light gray frame of the display. The buttons are matte and large enough for ease of use. Glossy black insert very easily and collects fingerprints, which cannot be said about the main front panel – stain it to us and failed.
To build quality claims do not arise: in spite of the composite nature of the case, he no squeaks and no backlash, even in the field of buttons. All components including the battery cover, made of durable plastic and is very well adjusted to each other. On the table not more than steadily.
Ergonomics
Weather station was developed in consideration of the impact of the maximum amount of information at a time. This explains the presence of large and that is the monochrome screen which is perfectly readable from any angle and does not even think to go blind in the sun. Right under the display manufacturer has placed five buttons control more than understandable pictograms on them, although the inscriptions are made in English, which is a disadvantage, because we are in Russia.
Button is tight enough to prevent accidental clicking and have a good, clearly perceptible haptic feedback. The barely audible clicking, no squeaking, they do not publish.
The Central and largest button activates the screen backlight yellow-green color. In the dark she has his eyes, and in artificial light it looks quite acceptable. The colors match very well. Backlight turns off after five seconds after pressing, which conserves battery power.
The back of the case there is only a compartment for three AA batteries, and already inside hiding two recessed into the body of the button one restart the device (Reset), and the second toggles the temperature unit.
Screen
Separately it is necessary to consider the display as the main, though not the only method of reading information from the station. The screen Oregon Scientific BAR218HG monochrome, and it is divided into three virtual zones. The upper area displays data from remote sensors, placed at the center forecast the weather (temperature and precipitation), and in the lower area displays the data from the sensors built into the station itself.
External sensor
A thermo-hydro sensor THGN132N supplied made in a plastic housing white color. The device is very sensitive, and need to think carefully about where to place it so that it conveyed the correct information. Ideally, the sensor should not influence the sun’s rays and the wind gusts as well as rainfall, and place should be not higher than 1.5 meters above the ground, as stated in the instructions.
Attaches the sensor on the most ordinary dowel-nail from a nearby hardware store, so don’t have to use double-sided tape, which is then extremely difficult to remove.
The battery inside the sensor there is a switch sequence number from 1 to 3, we need to distinguish between meteorological station data received from various sensors connected to it at one point of time. Oregon Scientific BAR218HG is able to work with five sensors, four of which are purchased separately.
Mobile app
The mobile devices were tested only on two smartphones running Google’s Android: Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android 6.0 and Micromax AQ5001 preloaded with Android 5.0. In both cases, failures have been reported. Testing on Apple devices for a number of reasons was not conducted.
The app is called “Weather@Home” and is easily found in Google Play. Weight is up to 2 MB. The program is not translated into Russian language – all labels are strictly in English, which is frustrating. Everything works fast enough data from the station are read in approximately 20 seconds.
However, to connect the station to the app will have a little dance with a tambourine, because this point in instructions are not considered. To activate the Bluetooth module on the station you need for two seconds, hold the Up button, which is not logical, and I guess this is simply impossible.
The app allows you to separately deal with each data source, whether the station or the remote sensors, and each of the connected devices, you can assign the name to avoid confusion. Station uploads information over the past seven days and graphs of changes of various parameters, including atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity.
The accuracy of the measurement
The manufacturer stated accuracy of the temperature measurement in 0.1 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 1%. We compared readings from the external sensor with the most popular Russian weather site and got a difference of 2 degrees and 3% (temperature and humidity, respectively). The weather forecast proved accurate. Compare with window the mercury thermometer showed a difference of just 1 degree. This implies that data provided by Oregon Scientific BAR218HG, it is possible to trust.
Work offline
During the test, which lasted little more than a week, Oregon Scientific BAR218HG was connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth during almost the entire time. Charge the normal AA batteries in that time have fallen by about a third (it can be measured in the mobile app), but in normal conditions upload data to a smartphone will need on average a couple times a week, so one set of batteries will last for several months. External sensor is a battery drain even slower.
Insights
Weather station Oregon Scientific BAR218HG copes with its responsibilities under the measurement of the current settings and always accurate is the weather forecast. With regard to memory function, it is, in our opinion, will be claimed only by professionals, tracking climate changes over time – ordinary consumers unlikely to be interested in what the weather was like a week ago, it is important what the weather will be in the near future or tomorrow, and the info station provides full.
Very pleased with the complete package: for its price, which at the time of writing, was 4,500 rubles via Yandex.Market”, the station is very well equipped and allows no additional cost to always obtain accurate data about the weather.
The device justifies its price, and the manufacturer need only to translate the app to Russian, replace the English labels on the case to Russian, and to adjust instruction. The rest of the station is purely positive emotions.
Pros Oregon Scientific BAR218HG
— large informative display;
— ability to work with external sensors;
— the external sensor kit;
— option to sync with a smartphone.
Cons of the Oregon Scientific BAR218HG
— not quite an accurate statement.
— brand app English.
